Chevron’s top priority is maintaining its dividend, which [hasn’t been] cut since the Great Depression nearly a century ago. The company can pay the dividend from its cash flow at current oil prices but cannot also cover its capital expenditures, he said. If oil prices remain below $30 a barrel, the company would draw on its balance sheet to cover both, according to [CEO] Wirth.
“We may need to lean on the balance sheet if prices remain in that range, which is why we have it,” [Wirth] said.